almquist



Feb. 7, 1956 N. 17. ALMQ-uls'r 2,733,674

BUTTONHOLE ATTACHMENT FOR SEWING MACHINES med .June 25, 1954 2 sheets-sheet 1 FIGA United States Patent O BUTTONHOLE ATTACHMENT FR SEWMG MACHINES Nils T. Alrnquist, New Britain, Conn., aasignor of fifty per cent to Raymond Engineering Laboratory, inc., Middletown, Conn., a corporation of Connecticut Appiieation .lune 25', 1954, Serial No. 439,421

19 Claims. (Cl. 112-77) The principal object of the invention is to provide a buttonhole attachment` for sewing machines having means of improved convenience and simplicity for enabling selection and adjustment of the size and shape of a `buttonhole to be formed.

Another object is to provide such an attachment having improved means for indicating in a convenient, plain and foolproof manner both the size and shape of the buttonhole for which the attachment is adjusted.

Another object is to provide a buttonhole attachment having means providing an audible signal for indicating when the moving parts of the attachment are correctly positioned for varying the size and shape of the buttonhole to be formed, when the attachment is properly positioned to commence a buttonhole sewing operation, and when the buttonhole has been completely sewed.

Another object is to provide a buttonhole attachment having means enabling the selection and adjustment of the size and shape of a buttonhole, which means is formed as a unitary subassembly which may be readily detached from the attachment for convenience of inspection, cleaning, or to vary the adjustment.

Other objects will be in part obvious, and in part pointed out more in detail hereinafter.

The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction, combination of elements and arrangement of parts which will be exemplied in the construction hereafter set forth and the scope of the application of which will be indicated in the appended claims.

In the drawings:

Figure l is a side elevational view of one embodiment of the buttonhole attachment forming the subject matter of the instant invention, the parts thereof being in the position which they assume when the needle bar of the sewing machine is fully raised or retracted;

Figure 2 is a plan view corresponding to Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary plan view of one end of the device showing the same with a cover installed;

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken in the general direction of line 4--4 of Figure 2;

Figure 5 is a plan view of the portion of the attachment by which adjustment may be made for various buttonholes of different sizes;

Figure 6 is a sectional view of the structure shown in Figure 5 taken on the line 6-6 thereof; and

Figure 7 is a detailed plan view of the end of the feed blade remote from the presser foot which is used in moving the material to be stitched.

Referring to the drawings, the buttonhole attachment shown comprises a support or base plate 10 upon one end of which is fixed a U-shaped frame 12 including upstanding integral standards or sides 14, 16 and a connecting lower web 18, the web being anchored to the suprinforcing side flanges 38 and 40.

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port or base plate by means of a pair of rivets 20. Interposed between the forward ends of the standards 14 and 16 and riveted thereto by a pair of rivets 24 is a clamp 22 used for the purpose of securing the entire buttonhole attachment to the presser bar of a sewing machine.

For feeding the fabric or material in which a buttonhole is to be formed relative to the path of the sewing machine needle, the attachment has a feeding mechanism which is used in lieu of the regular sewing machine feeding mechanism, and which includes a serrated presser foot 26 carried at one end of an elongated feed blade 28. The feed blade 28 is pivotally and slidably mounted on the underside of the base plate 10 by a T-shaped bracket 30 whose arms straddle a longitudinal slot 32 in base plate lil and which is connected to the feed blade through the slot by a rivet 34.

ln order to effect stitching of that portion of the fabric in which the buttonhole is to be formed, it can readily be understood that the presser foot 26 must traverse a rather complex and tortuous pattern involving longitudinal, transverse and oscillating movements.

Extending rearwardly from the standards 14 and 16 is a platform 36 provided with downwardly directed re- The platform 36 is pinned at its forward end 42 to the standards 14 and 16 and has a collar 44 at its rear end which is supported on and rotatably receives a bushing 46 rotatably supported in base plate 10.

An actuating lever 50 is pivotally supported bythe standards 14, 16 and has a bifurcated end 52 which is connectable with the needle bar of the sewing machine for movement therewith. The actuating lever 50 is pivotally mounted intermediate its ends on a shaft 54 journaled in the standards 14 and 16. The lever 50 is equipped at its other end with a cam 56 having a nose portion 5S which engages a follower arm 60 mounted for limited pivotal movement by a pivot pin 62 supported in an upstanding relation on the platform 36. A spring 64 biases the follower arm 60 in a clockwise direction as viewed in Figure 2, the spring 64 bearing against an upstruck ear 66 on the platform 36 to prevent movement of one end of the spring, while the other end of the spring engages an upstanding ange 68 on the follower arm 60, this opstanding iiange being the portion of the follower arm actually engaged by the cam nose 58.

A second upstanding flange 76, integral with the follower arm 60, contains therein a slot 72 through which extends a ilat pawl element 74 which is biased by a spring 7 6 into engagement with a ratchet 7S. The ratchet 78 is fixed to bushing 46, and is thus rotatable relative to base plate 10. A resilient sleeve fixed to ratchet 78 frictionally engages collar 44' to prevent the ratchet from being dragged backward by pawl 74. A knurled knob 82 has its shank threaded into the upper end of the bushing 46 so that the ratchet may be rotated manually as well as by pawl 74. A shaft 34 is threaded into the lower end of the bushing 46 and has a pinion 86 integrally connected thereto, the pinion being formed with a depending cylindrical boss S8. v

To connect the feed blade 23 in driving engagement with the pinion 86, the feed blade 2% is provided with an opening to accommodate the pinion 86 and bess S8, the opening having peripheral teeth forming a rack 92 arranged in the shape of a so-called keyhole-type buttonhole for engagement with the pinion 86. T he rack 92 determines the size of the largest buttonhole which can be made with the exemplary attachment.

To regulate the path of movement of the feed blade as pinion 86 rotates, the attachment is provided with'a guide or dial assembly, designated generally by the reference character 100. The guide assembly includes a disk 102 disposed beneath the feed blade 28 adjacent the righthand end of the opening 90 as viewed in the drawings. The disk'102 rests on and`V is supported from the feed blade by a transversely extending strap 104 to the central'portion of which it is secured by rivets 106. Strap Vthe disk is a keyhole-shaped slot 120 which coincides in shape with and lies directly beneath the right-hand end of the rackf92. Slot 120 is arranged to accommodate the bottom portion of pinion 86 when the feed blade is in extended position, i. e., moved to the left as viewed in Figure 4, and in the floor of the slot is a keyhole-shaped groove 122 which receives the boss 88 and maintains the pinion `86 in engagement with theright-hand end of the rack 92. Thus when the track formed by slot 120 and groove 122 is in registry with rack 92 and pinion 86 is rotated, its driving engagement with the rack causes the feed blade 28 to be manipulated through a path conforming in shape to the keyhole shape of slot 120.

Diametrically opposite the keyhole-shaped slot 120, disk 102 has a U-shaped slot 124 of the same' depth as slot 120 and provided at its bight portion with a U-shaped rack section 125 of the same shape as the left-hand end of rack 92. By disconnecting screws 108, the disk may be rotated 180 relative to the feed blade simply by turning the strap'104 end for end and this brings the U-shaped slot 124 into registry with the right-hand portion of the rack 92 in the feed blade. Slot 124 is properly sized to accommodate pinion 86 and in the floor of the slot is a U-shaped groove 126 which is sized to receive boss 88 and maintain the pinion 86 in engagement with rack section 125. When so engaged the pinion is guided across the right-hand end of the rack 92 in a simple U-shaped path complementary to the left-hand end of the rack, and thus during its rotation pinion 86 will manipulate feed blade 28 in a U-shaped path conforming to the shape of slot 124.

Circumscribing the disk 102 is a rotatable dial member 130 which rests on and is supported by the extended por- Y tions of strap 104. The top of the dial 130 is level with the top of the disk 102, and the upper surface of the dial is recessed as at 132 to the level of slot 120. From the oor of this recess 132 upstands in relief a plurality of arcuate rack sections 134a-g angularly arranged at different radial distances. An arcuate rack section is formed at 134k which is devoid of teeth. The tops of the rack sections 134'a-h are level with the top of dial 130 and disk 102 so as to be engageable selectively by the pinion 86. Formed in the floor of the recess 132 and registrable with the grooves 122, 126 in disk 102 are a plurality of reversely facing grooves or tracks 136a-1z, these grooves being of varying length to cooperate with the rack sections 134a-lz. Each groove 136a-h is adapted to engage boss 88 when the feed blade is in retracted position, and guide the pinion 86 into engagement with its associated rack section 134a-h to transfer the pinion 86 across the left-hand end of the rack 92 at a point corresponding to the radius of the respective rack section. Thus it may be seen that the grooves 136 and associated rack sections 134 in dial 130 form a plurality of track segments to provide a buttonhole tail of varying desired lengths.

To prevent inadvertent rotation of the dial member 130 once it has been set, the feed blade is provided at its rear end with a downturned ange 138 which supports a pivotal latch 140V having a finger-engaging end 142 and an inwardly bent end functioning as a dog element 144 which is spring pressed against the periphery of the dial member and is engageable in any one of a series of short radial slots 146 circumferentially spaced along the periphery ofL the dial member. When it is desired to set the dial 130, itis merely necessary to press the end 142v of the latch in -a wardly to disengage the dog 144 and rotate the dial to bring into registry with rack 92 any selected one of the rack sections 134a-h.

Distributed along the circumference of the dial member are gauge marks Illa-h of varying sizes corresponding to the length of the tail of the buttonhole that will be formed with any given setting of the dial member. Each gauge mark 111a-h is positioned on the dial in the proper angular relation to its corresponding rack section 134a-h so that, when the rack section to which it corresponds is in registry with the rack 92, it is exposed by a cut-away portion 150 formed on the enlarged circular end 151 of the overlying feed blade. Adjacent the cut-away portion 150, the feed blade is further notched out as at 152 and is provided with a diametrically spaced notch 154 to expose inturned ears 156, 158 respectively formed on the ends of the strap 104 and overlying the edge of dial 90. On the ears are gauge marks 160, 162 positioned so as to align with Whatever gauge mark Illa-h is adjacent on the dial 130. With this arrangement, whichever gauge mark 160, 162 is exposed by the notch 152 cooperates with the adjacent gauge mark on the dial member ex posed by portion 150 to provide an indication at a glance of both the exact size and shape of the buttonhole for which` the attachment is adjusted. Since the feed blade has a cut-away portion 150 adjacent only notch 152, gauge marks Illa-h on dial 130 adjacent notch 154 will not be visible and the only complete indication will appear at notch 152, so that no possibility of confusion or mistake can arise as to which buttonhole head shape or size the disk is set for.

For the purpose of providing an audible signal of the position of the feed blade relative to the pinion 86, a bell y is mounted on base plate 10 at the right-hand end thereof and has a clapper consisting of a flexible arm 172 with a hammer 174 at one end. At its other end the dapper is riveted to an upstanding ear 176 provided on an arm 178 pivotally connected to base plate 10 by a pin 180. A spring 182 acting between a stop 184 secured to the top of the base plate and the ear 176 urges the arm in a clockwise direction as shown in Figure 2. The arm 178 has a branching finger Y186 engageable with the end of the stop 184 to limit rpivotal'movernent of the arm in a clockwise direction. The arm 178 extends across the slot 32 and is upwardly spaced from base plate 10 so as to permit the T-shaped bracket 30 which supports feed blade 28 to reciprocate in slot 32 beneath arm 178. Depending from the end of arm 178 is a lug 188 disposed in the path of one end of bracket 30 and engageable thereby as feed blade 28 is extended longitudinally. Engagement of bracket 30 with the lug 188 as the feed blade moves forwardly pivots arm 178 in a counterclockwise direction, against the bias of spring 182. As the feed blade approaches the end of its forward or extension stroke and begins to move transversely as boss 88 enters the bight portion of Whichever groove 122, 126 in the disk is in registry with rack 92, the transverse movement of bracket 30 slides the end 4of the bracket out of engagement with lug 188 and releases arm 178. The spring 182 then drives arm 178 clockwise until finger 186 engages the stop 184. This abrupt pivoting of arm 178 causes the hammer 174 to strike the bell smartly and signal the arrival of the feed blade at a position such that the boss 88 is at the bight of the groove 122 or 126 in the disk 102. Once the bell has been struck, the resilient arm 172 holds the hammer out of contact with the bell so that it can ring clearly. By thus signalling when the boss 88 is in the bight of the groove 122 or 126 in the disk 102, the bell indicates when the feed blade is fully extended, and thus v of the moving parts of the attachment.

catesiY when the dial 130 may be freely rotated aboutdisk "162 to make an adjustment of the buttonhole length.

210 pivotally connected to base plate lll by a pin 212.

The swivel lever has a longitudinal slot 214 to which is connected by a pin 216 one end of a longitudinal adjusting lever 218. The pin 216 extends through a slot 220 in the base plate of sufficient width to accommodate maximum transverse movement of the pin during oscillation of the cam follower 268, and engages a longitudinal slot 222 in the feed blade. With this arrangement, rotation of the -cam roll Ztltl oscillates the swivel lever 210 about the pin 212 and causes the pin 216 to oscillate the feed blade 28 about its point of engagement with the pinion 86.

Adjusting lever 218 is longitudinally adjustable and has a series of teeth 224 at its other end which are pressed by a spring 226 into engagement with a stirrup 228 extending from the platform 36. The lever also has an integral pointer 239. As will be appreciated, longitudinal movement of the lever positions the pin 144 and thereby determines the point of engagement of the swivel lever 210 with feed blade 2S. Since a constant throw is afforded swivel lever 210 by cam roll 20d, adjustment of the pin 216 permits the angular oscillation of the feed blade to be varied. The closer is the pin 216 to the pinion S6, the greater will be the angular oscillation of the feed blade. j

As shown in Figures 3 and 4, the attachment is provided with a cover 24d which conceals and protects most The lower edge of the cover fits within an upturned flange 242 on the base plate 10, and the platform 36 has an upstanding post 244 to which the cover is anchored by a screw 246. The side of the cover is also scribed to provide a gauge 166 against which the pointer 240 can be read to indicate the amplitude of oscillation or bite of the feed blade for which the adjusting lever 218 is set.

In use of the attachment, the knob S2 is iirst rotated manually to move the feed blade longitudinally to a position beneath` the pinion 86. This positions the boss S8 in the big-htV of whichever groove 122, 126 in disk 1432 is in registry with rack 92 and thereby trips arm 173 to ring the bell 17?, thus signalling that the boss is so positioned. If it is desired to change the shape of the head of the buttonhole, the dial assembly 1MB is then detached from the feed blade and the disk is reversed to bring `into registry with the rack 92 whichever track segment formed by slot 12@ and groove 122 or slot 12d and groove 126 corresponds to the desired shape of the buttonhole head. The dial assembly 100 is then replaced beneath the feed blade, the dial 13d rotated to bring into registry with the selected track segment in the disk whatever track segment in the dial corresponds to the desired length of the tail portion of the buttonhole, and the latch 14@ engaged with the proper slot 146 in the dial periphery. Since both the disk 162 and dial 13b are adjustable, it

- will be appreciated that various desired tail lengths may "be given a buttonhole of either a keyhole-shaped or U- shaped head.

` thereby provide an indication readable at a glance of bothgthe size and shape of the buttonhole forvwhich the attachment is set. The s uperimposing of a buttonfor which the hole is to be formed upon the complete mark exposed will show clearly the dial assembly has been properly set. d

When the attachment is operated, rotation of the ratchet 73 by the actuating lever 50 through the cam 56, cam follower arm 6i) and pawl 74 causes the pinion 86 to rotate in a clockwise direction as viewed from Figure 2. Since the pinion is engaged with the rack 92, the feed blade 2S is moved by the pinion, carrying with it the dial assembly 16th Engagement with the boss 8d of the grooves in the disk 162 and dial 130 which are in registry with the rack 92 guides the feed blade relative to the pinion and maintains the rack 92 in engage ment with the pinion. en the feed blade has moved sufficiently far to the right as viewed in Figure 4, the boss SS passes smoothly from the groove in the disk to the groove in the dial member in registry therewith` When the feed blade has moved far enough to the right to bring the boss tothe bight of the groove 136ah in the dial, then the pinion engages whatever arcuate rack section 1Min-h is at the end of the groove and is transferred thereby across the bight of the groove to its other side, and into engagement with the other side of the rack 92. if the dial member has been set so that the toothless arcuate rack section 134k is in registry with the rack 92, the boss 83 guides the pinion along the entire length of the rack 92 and the pinion is transferred to the opposite side of the rack 92 by the teeth at the left-hand end of the rack itself. This setting of dial 13d permits the largest longitudinal displacement of the feed blade and produces a buttonhole having the longest tail. lf, however, the dial member is rotated or set so that one of the arcuate rack sections 134a-g is in registry with the rack 92, as the feed blade is moved rearwardly or to the right the pinion S6 will engage the rack section and transfer the pinion from one side of the rack 92 to the other before the pinion has reached the left-hand end of the rack 92. This, of course, produces a buttonhole of shorter length.

Once having been transferred from one side of the rack to the other the pinion progresses along the opposite side of the rack and causes the feed blade to move longitudinally to the left. Thereafter the boss re-enters the groove 122 or 126 in the disk and returns to the bight of this groove, causing the bell to ring and signalling that the stitching of the buttonhole is completed.

Thus there has been shown and described a buttonhole attachment which can be easily and conveniently set to provide a buttonhole of any desired size or shape, and when set provides a plain andunmistakble visual indicationrof both the exact size and shape of the buttonhole to be formed. Though the dial assembly is covered by the feed blade, thereby preventing the entrance of foreign matter into the track segments, the bell affords an accurate and dependable indication of when the feed blade is properly positioned to enable quick andl easy changing of the setting, as well as a reliable indication of a uniform starting point for the buttonhole and an indication'of when the buttonhole is completed. Also, the dial assembly is readily detachable as a unit for adjustment, inspection or cleaning. Thus it may be seen that the attachment is exceptionally simple andV convenient to use, as well as effective and dependable in operation.

As many changes could be made in the above construction and many apparently widely different embodiments of this invention could be made without departing from the scope thereof, it is intended ythat all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense. i Y

It is also to be understood that the language used in the following claims is intended to cover all of the generic and specic features of the invention herein described and all statements of the scope of the invention which, as a matter of language, might be said to fall therebetween.

I claim:

l. In a buttonhole. attachment for sewing machines having a support, a feed blade, means mounting said blade on said support for longitudinal and oscillating movement, and a rotatable drive member on'the support for moving the feed blade, a first guide member adjustably carried by the blade and having a plurality of first tracks of different shapes selectively engageable with said drive member to determine one end of a buttonhole to be formed, and a second guide member adjustably carried by the rst guide member and having a plurality of second tracks of different lengths selectively registrable with said first tracks to determined the other end of the buttonhole.

2. In a buttonhole attachment for sewing machines having a support, a feed blade, means mounting said blade on said support for sliding and oscillating movement, and a rotatable drive member carried by said support for moving said feed blade, a reversible iirst guide member carried by the blade and having a keyhole-shaped iirst track and an oppositely facing U-shaped first track selectively engageable with said drive member to determine the shape of a buttonhole to be formed, and a second guide member rotatably carried by the blade, having a plurality of second U-shaped tracks of varying lengths selcctively'registrable with one of said first tracks to determine the length of the buttonhole.

3. In a buttonhole attachment for sewing machines, a support, a feed blade mounted on the underside of the support for longitudinal and oscillating movement, means for driving the blade including a pinion extending below the support, and means on the blade forming a track of variable Ysize and shape for engagement with the pinion comprising a first adjustable member having a keyholeshaped track end and a U-shaped track end for-engagement selectively with the pinion, andra second adjustable member having a plurality of U-shaped track ends of varying lengths selectively registrable with the selected first track end.

4. In a buttonhole attachment for sewing machines, a support, a feed blade mounted on the support for longitudinal and oscillating movement, a driving pinion for moving the blade, said feed blade having a fixed rack for engagement With the pinion, and a pair of movable rack means carried by the support for movement selectively into registry with opposite ends of the xed rack and engageable by the pinion to vary the path of the pinion.

`5. In a buttonhole attachment for sewing machines, a support, a feed blade mounted on the support for longitudinal and oscillating movement, means including a pinion rotatably mounted on the support for driving the blade, a rotatable dial on the blade having track end sections of varying lengths for engagement selectively with the pinion, and a member mounted at the hub of the dial having a U-shaped track section and a keyhole track section for cooperation selectively with the track end sections.

6. In a buttonhole attachment Vfor sewing machines, comprising a support, a feed blade provided with a rack, means mounting said blade on said support for sliding and oscillating movement, a kfirst guide member adjustably carried by the blade and having a keyhole-shaped rst track and a U-shaped iirst track selectively registrable with said rack to determine one end of a buttonhole to be formed, a second guide member adjustably carried by the blade Vand having a plurality of second U-shaped tracks selectively registrable with one of said lirst tracks and the rack to determine the remainder of the buttonhole, and a rotatable pinion carried by said support engageable with said rack and said track segments for moving said blade.

7. Ina buttonhole attachment for sewing machines having a support, a feed blade, means mounting said blade on said support for sliding and oscillating movement, and a rotatable drive member carried by said support for moving the feed blade, a guide assembly carried by the feed blade comprising a disk provided with angularly related keyhole-shaped and U-shaped rst tracks selectively engageable with said drive member to determine the shape of a buttonhole to be formed, and a dial rotatable about said disk and having a plurality of U- shaped second tracks of diiferent lengths selectively registrable with said first tracks to determine the length of the buttonhole.

8. In a sewing machine buttonhole attachment of the type having a support, a feed blade, means mounting said feed blade on the support for sliding and oscillating movement, and a rotatable drive pinion on the support for moving the feed blade, a guide assembly for controlling the movement of the feed blade comprising a rotatably adjustable disk carried on the underside of the blade, said disk having a keyhole-shaped track and a U- shaped track selectively registrable with the pinion and adapted to guide thepinion to determine one end of a buttonhole to be formed, a rotatable ring member surrounding the disk, and a plurality of radially disposed U-shaped tracks of different lengths in the ring member selectively registrable with the track in said disk registered with said pinion and adapted to guide the pinion to determine the other end of the buttonhole.

9. In a buttonhole attachment for sewing machines having a support, a feed blade, means mounting the feed blade on the support for sliding and oscillating movement, and a rotatable drive member on the support for moving the feed blade, means for controlling the movement of said feed'blade relative to said support comprising a guide assembly having a irst guide member provided with a keyhole-shaped iirst track and a U-shaped first track adapted to be selectively engaged by said drive member, a second guide member rotatably mounted on and carried by said first guide member and having a plurality of U-shaped second tracks of different lengths selectively registrable with either of said first tracks, and means adjustably mounting said guide assembly on said feed blade for selectively registering one of said first tracks with said drive member.

10. In a buttonhole attachment for sewing machines, a support, a feed blade mounted on the underside of the support for longitudinal and oscillating movement, means including a rotatable pinion carried by said support for moving said feed blade, and a dial assembly on the blade comprising a hub portion having a keyhole-shaped rack segment and a U-shaped rack segment, means for attaching the hub to the blade with one of said rack segments selectively in engagement with the pinion, and a dial rotatably attached to the hub having a plurality of U- shaped rack segments selectively registrable with said one of said rack segments.

ll. In a buttonhole attachment for sewing machines, a support, a feed blade mounted on the underside of the support for longitudinal and oscillating movement, means including a rotatable pinion carried by said support for moving the feed blade, and a dial assembly movably mounted on the blade comprising a reversible hub portion having a keyhole-shaped rack segment and an oppositely facing U-shaped rack segment for engagement selectively with the pinion, and a dial rotatably mounted on said hub having a plurality of U-shaped rack segments selectively registrable with either of said firstnamed rack segments.

- l2. In a buttonhole attachment for sewing machines having a support, a feed blade, means mounting the feed blade on the support for sliding and oscillating movement, and a rotatable drive member on the support for moving the feed blade, a rst guide member adjustably carried by the feed blade and having a plurality of rst tracks selectively registrable with said drive member for determining one part of a buttonhole to be formed, first indicia on said first guide member to indicate the particular vfirst track in registry with said drive member, a second guidemember adjustably carried by the feed blade and having a plurality of second tracks selectively registrable with said drive member for determining another part of the buttonhole, and second indicia on said second guide member registrable with the first indicia to indicate the composite track in registry With said drive member.

13. In a buttonhole attachment for sewing machines, a support, a feed blade mounted on the support for longitudinal and'oscillating movement, means for driving the blade including a rotatable pinion carried by the support, a first guide member adjustably carried by the feed blade and having a plurality of differently shaped track segments selectively engageable with the pinion, indicia on said first guide member to indicate the shape of the first track segment engaged with the pinion, a second guide member adjustably carried by the feed blade and having a plurality of second track segments of varying lengths selectively registrable with the selected track segment of the first guide member, and indicia on the second guide member registering with the exposed indicia of the first track segment to indicate the length of the track.

14. In a buttonhole attachment for sewing machines, a support, a feed blade, means mounting said feed blade on the support for sliding and oscillating movement, a rotatable pinion carried by said support and extending through an opening in said feed blade, selector means adjustably mounted beneath the opening in the feed blade and having a plurality of differently shaped track segments selectively engageable with said pinion for determining one end of a buttonhole to be formed, a dial rotatably mounted on the selector means and having a plurality of second tracks selectively registrable with the first track in engagement with said pinion for determining the other end of the buttonhole, rst indicia on said selector means for indicating the particular first track in engagement with said pinion, said blade being formed with an aperture registering with the rst indicia, and second indicia on said dial registrable with said aperture and with the first indicia to indicate the particular second track in registry with said particular first track.

l5. In a buttonhole attachment for sewing machines comprising a support, a feed blade, means mounting said feed blade on the support for sliding and oscillating movement and a rotatable pinion carried by said support for moving the feed blade, a disk having a keyhole-shaped first track and an oppositely facing U-shaped first track, a strap connected at its center to said disk and connected to said feed blade for reversing movement to selectively register one or the other ofvsaid first tracks with said pinion for determining one end of a buttonhole to be formed, said strap having oppositely directed end portions extending radially from said disk, different first indicia at opposite ends of said strap registrable with a selected portion of said feed blade to indicate the particular first track in registry with said drive member, a rotatable dial carried by said strap end portions in surrounding relation with saiddisk, said dial having a plurality of radially disposed U-shaped second tracks of different lengths selectively registrable with said first tracks fordetermining the other end of the buttonhole, and second indicia distributed at spaced points for registering on said dial with said selected feed blade portion and with the first indicium in registry therewith to indicate the second track in registry with said pinion.

16. In a buttonhole attachment for sewing machines, a support, a feed blade mounted on the support for longitudinal and oscillating movement, means including a rotatable pinion carried by said support for moving said feed blade, a track on the blade engaged with said pinion, a bell carried by the support, a biased clapper for the bell, and means on the feed blade for retracting the clapper during a portion of the movement of the blade and for releasing the clapper at the end of longitudinal movement of the blade in one direction.

17. A buttonhole attachment comprising a support; a feed blade having a buttonhole-shaped rack dimensioned according to maximum desired buttonhole size; means mounting the feed blade on the support for sliding and oscillating movement; a pinion rotatably carried by the support and engageable with the rack to move the feed blade; an axially extending boss on the pinion; a cylindrical member shiftably carried by the blade and having a pair of first tracks selectively registrable with the rack for guiding the pinion in the rack to form one end of a buttonhole; one of said first tracks corresponding in outline Vto one end of saidv rack and including a keyholeshaped slot adapted to receive said pinion and a keyhole-shaped groove adapted to receive said boss; the other of said tracks including a U-shaped slot for receiving said pinion, a U-shaped groove for receiving said boss, and an arcuate rack section engageable with the pinion to 4guide the pinion across said one end of the rack in a U- shaped path; a rotatable ring encircling said.cylindrical member having a plurality of radially-disposed second tracks selectively registrable with one of said first tracks to form the other end of the buttonhole; said second tracks including U-shaped slots and U-shaped grooves of varying lengths for receiving said respective pinion and boss, and an arcuate rack segment spaced from the bight of each U-shaped slot except the longest to engage the pinion and guide it across the rack at points variously spaced from the other end of the rack.

18. A buttonhole attachment comprising a support; a feed blade having a buttonhole-shaped rack dimensioned according to maximum desired buttonhole size; means mounting the feed blade on the support for sliding and oscillating movement; a pinion rotatably carried by the support and engageable with the rack to move the feed blade; an axially extending boss on the pinion; a cylindrical member shiftably carried by the blade and having a pair of first tracks selectively registrable with the rack for guiding the pinion in the rack to form one end of a buttonhole; one of said first tracks corresponding in outline to one end of said rack and including a keyholeshaped slot adapted to receive said pinion and a keyholeshaped groove adapted to receive said boss to guide said pinion around sad one end of said rack; the other of said tracks including a U-shaped slot for receiving said pinion, a U-shaped groove for receiving said boss, and an arcuate rack section engageable with the pinion to guide the pinion across said one end of the rack n a U-shaped path; a rotatable ring encircling said cylindrical member having a plurality of radally-dsposed second tracks selectvely registrable with one of said first tracks to form the other end of the buttonhole; said second tracks including U-shaped slots and U-shaped grooves of varying lengths for receiving said respective pinion and boss, and an arcuate rack segment spaced from the bight of each U- shaped slot except the longest to engage the pinion and guide it across the rack at points variously spaced from the other end of the rack; an indicator connected to said cylindrical member registrable with a selected point onk said feed blade to indicate which one of said first tracks is in registry with said rack; and indicia distributed atV spaced points on said ring registrable with said indicator to indicate which of said second tracks is in registry with said rack; said indicator and the indicium in registry therewith providing an indication of both the size and shape of the buttonhole to be formed.

19. A buttonhole attachment comprising a support; a feed blade having a buttonhole-shaped rack dimensioned according to maximum desired buttonhole size; means mounting the feed blade on the support for sliding and oscillating movement; a pinion rotatably carried by the support and engageable with the rack to move the feed blade; an axially extending boss on the pinion; a cylin- -1 1 drical member shiftably carried by the blade and having a pair of iirst tracks selectively registrable with the rack for guiding the pinion in the rack to form one end of a vbuttonhole; one of said rst tracks corresponding in outline to one end of said rack and including a keyholeshaped slot adapted to receive said pinion and a keyholeshaped groove adapted to receive said boss to guide said pinion around said one end of said rack; the other of said tracks including a U-shaped slot for receiving said pinion, a U-shaped groove Qfor receiving said boss, and an arcuate rack section engageable with the pinion to guide the pinion across said one end of the rack in a U-shaped path; a rotatable ring encircling said cylindrical member having a plurality of radially-disposed second tracks selectively Vregistrable with one of said first tracks to form the other end of the buttonhole; said second tracks including References Cited in the le of this patent UNTED STATES PATENTS Powell Jan. 26, 1892 Campbell Aug. 4, 1953 

